TinyChat: Disposable, Web-Based Chat Anyone Can Use

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TinyChat: Disposable, Web-Based Chat Anyone Can Use

Instant Messaging has wormed its way into just about every web app under the sun — from Facebook to Gmail, there’s a pretty good chance that the app you’re using offers some form of IM tool. But sometimes it’s a pain to coordinate different networks, instant messaging software and other potential issues that make chatting, while ubiquitous, something of a pain.

That’s where TinyChat comes in. The dead-simple service creates disposable chatrooms you can easily share with friends. The service is deliberately limited, there’s no need to sign up for an account, just create the room, grab your URL and send it whomever you want to chat with.

All your friends need to do is click the link you send and the chat starts — no software, no logins, nothing.

TinyChat has a number of possible uses, from offering a simple way to chat with your less-than-tech-savvy friends, to skirting corporate firewalls that block typical instant message protocols.

TinyChat is the brainchild of Daniel Blake, who says that the main goal was to make chatting simpler. As Blake puts it, “not everyone has the same messenger software, not everyone is computer knowledgeable enough to even use a messenger client, but everyone knows how to click a link sent to them in an e-mail.”

Of course that simplicity also means TinyChat doesn’t offer much in the way of privacy, in fact since TinyChat uses a pretty simple URL scheme, it isn’t hard to guess your way into other people’s chat rooms. Think of TinyChat as a conversation in the crowded bar; probably not the best place to discuss those top secret business plans.

TinyChat’s blog says that encrypted and password-protected chatrooms are in the works, but in the mean time it is at least possible to send private messages which are hidden from the rest of the room: just click on the person’s name and your message will go to only that person.

TinyChat is simple and useful as it is, but the site plans to expand with some features that, while still keeping things simple, fill a few gaps in the current features set.

With TinyChat “extended” you’ll have the ability to ban users by IP, add moderators, password protect your rooms, add encryption, review your chat logs and more. In other words TinyChat will soon of both a quick, disposable chat room and a slightly more robust, permanent chatroom, should you want it.

TinyChat also plans to offer an embeddable widget which will allow you to create room and then display it on your own site.